Naby Keita
Naby Deco Keita (born 10 February 1995) is a Guinean international footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool, with the Reds having completed a £52,750,000 deal to sign him from RB Leipzig, making him the second most expensive player in the club’s history at the time. Liverpool career After an explosive first season with RB Leipzig, reports began to come through of Liverpool interest in Naby Keita, with the Midfielder being regarded as one of the best young midfielders in Europe. Leipzig’s sporting director, Ralph Ragnick heavily denied these reports, with Liverpool offering upward of £60,000,000 to bring the Guinean to Anfield. On 28 August 2017, it was announced that a deal had been agreed to bring Keita to Liverpool in the next summer. This deal involved paying Keita’s future release clause of £48,000,000, as well as a bonus fee depending on RB Leipzig’s league performance. After the departure of Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window, Liverpool attempted to bring the deal forward, but were flat out rejected by Leipzig. On 27 June 2018, Keita was officially announced as a Liverpool player, signing for a total fee of £52,750,000. The Guinean was personally handed the number 8 shirt by Steven Gerrard. Keita officially signed on 1 July, and made his debut in pre-season a week later, assisting Daniel Sturridge in a 7-0 win over Chester. On 12 August 2018, Keita made his competitive debut, starting in a 4-0 win over West Ham. Keita put in a very impressive performance, and was heavily involved in Mohamed Salah’s opening goal. Keita kept his place for the majority of games over the following month, before picking up an injury that kept him out for over five weeks. On 5 April 2019, Keita scored his first Liverpool goal at a vital time, grabbing the equaliser in an eventual 3-1 win away to Southampton to keep the Reds in the title race. Four days later, Keita grabbed a second in quick succession, firing in a deflected strike from the edge of the area to open the scoring in a 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League. On 27 April, Keita opened the scoring just 14 seconds into a 5-0 win over Huddersfield, grabbing Liverpool's quickest ever Premier League goal. Four days later, Keita started away to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. The Guinean was substituted after just 26 minutes however, picking up an injury that ended his season prematurely. Keita missed most of the next pre-season after suffering an injury on international duty, representing Guinea in the African Cup of Nations. He did however, make his first appearance of the season in the first game, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. After this though, he suffered yet another injury, delaying his start to the season for another month, eventually returning to action at the end of September. On 7 December 2019, Keita made his first Premier League start of the season, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win away to Bournemouth. Keita grabbed his first goal of the season just before half-time, finishing a one vs one after being put through well by Mohamed Salah. He then returned the favour in the second half, putting Salah in on goal with a fine through ball, allowing him to put the Reds three up. Three days later, he was given a start in a must-win Champions League game away to Salzburg, his former club. Keita repaid the faith placed in him, giving Liverpool a vital lead in the 57th minute, setting them off on a 2-0 win to send them through to the knockout stage. Just over a week later, Keita made it three goals in as many games, as he set Liverpool on the route to the FIFA Club World Cup Final, opening the scoring in a 2-1 win over Monterrey. Honours Liverpool *UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019) *FIFA Club World Cup: 1 (2019) *UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2019) Stats External links * Category:Current Players Category:Midfielders